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FOLK DANCES

BHANGRA

The Bhangra dance of Punjab is associated with fairs, festivals, marriages and harvesting. The Bhangra is danced by men for all happy occasions.

JHOOMER

Jhoomer is a distinctive folk dance of Southern Punjab of the pre-partition days performed by men to a specific jhoomer rhythm. The name is derived from ghoomer i.e. performance in a circle or spinning around. The dancers make a circle around the drummer (Dholi). The dress is mostly white.

SAMMI

This traditional tribal folk dance was performed by women in the Sandalbar region now in Pakistan. Sammi is danced to the beat of the Dhol. The traditional percussion instrument of Punjab. Its songs reflect the tender human emotions, happiness and sorrows of day-to-day life.

GIDDHA

Giddha is the most favorite dance of Punjabi women and it is danced at weddings, at the birth of a child, the Teej Festival and other happy occasions.

NACHAAR

Nachhar is the popular tradition of folk dances in Punjab. The dance found its advent in the villages that lay close to the cantonments. The villagers started playing on the Scottish Bag-pipe that was used by the British Bands in the military. The tilting thrill of the bagpipe music created its own followers to dance with its melody. The young boys dressed as girls, dance in their individual styles while other instruments like Chimta, Dhol and sometimes western drums and trumpets are also played.

MALWAI GIDDHA

In the Malwa area of Punjab i.e. the area towards the south of the Sutlej river, Giddha is popular among men and is known as the Malwai Giddha. Dressed in Kurtas and Chadaraas and adorning plumed turbans each of the participants carries a folk instrument ( Chimta, Dholak, Kato, Garwa etc.)

BAZIGARS

The Bazigars are the most prominent and colourful people among the many tribes which have settled down in the recent past. Besides Punjab, the Bazigars are scattered all over North India especially Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. Like most of the other tribes of this region, the Bazigars also relate themselves to the ancient Rajput rulers of Rajasthan. It is clear from the name ‘Bazigar’ that the people gave them this name on the basis of ‘Bazi’, a miraculous form of acrobatics which they perform. The Bazigars have settled in small Bastis on the outskirts of villages and small towns. Bazigar men are known for their acrobatics and women for dance and song. And it is this image of the community which has been projected in films and literature. But not a single film or a literary work has given even a sketchy version of the full performance of Bazi or Gidha of Bazigar women which is entirely different from Punjabi Gidha in terms of body movements, rhythmics and in terms of form and content and praxis of the total composition.

The Bazigars have settled in small Bastis on the outskirts of villages and small towns. They no longer move from village to village , performing the Bazis to earn their livelihood by entertaining people as in the past. Their women used to sell toys for small kids, charmakhs for charkhas and small and big needles etc. On happy occasions like wedding or the birth of a male child, the bazigar women would come to sing lullabies and dance to congratulate the family. On festive occasions like Lohri, the bazigar women come to sing and dance to entertain to earn their living even today in the villages and the towns.

GATKA (MARTIAL ART OF PUNJAB)

The land of Punjab has ever been known to be the land of SAINTS and SEERS, but this land has also suffered much as & result of which great warriors have been born. Sikh Community has involved as one of the bravest community amongst the great communists of world. The art of martial acts started in the Sikh History. The throne of Delhi ordered that without the Muslims no one else could wear turbans, could not ride horses and could not possess weapons. The sixth Guru established the institution of Akal Takhat Sahib to counter the throne of Delhi and adorned the 'KALGI' or crown and weapons and prepared his own force. He passed orders to effect that his followers should wear turbans, ride horses and possess weapons.

The tenth Guru Gobind Singh Ji adorned the Panj Piaras (the five loved ones) and made them have KHAND-BATTA DA AMRIT which meant this all were equal and made them have to holy water which produced in them some divine force. He combined worship and power and made his Khalsa the Saint-Warrior. So it become necessary that along with being warrior one had also to learn the martial art.

Gatka (Martial Art), the unique and separate art has been made an advanced art and the commendations for this got to this Akhara. In this period, this art besides practised in religious & conference and related to Sikh Guru and Nagar Kirtans (Processions), where it is played according to rules of open space. In this, the use of traditional weapons and acts, like sword, shield,lance, sticks (6 feet long), a 'fri sotte' (Shield and Stick, 3 feet long) and dagger, balls of iron tied to a chain, Pattas etc. In playing Gatka, ti instill igour, the use of Drum, Nagara and Narsingha is made.

OTHER DANCES

Other folk dances of Punjab include LUDDI for men and women, DANKRA by men and women besides a number of religious dances like the Jalli, Namdhari dance, Langoor dance, Saal, Dhamal and others.